That the commander of the Pacific fleet would follow orders from this Caligula-like Commander-in-chief isn't surprising, but his reply is no less disturbing. I'm sure the Chinese were thrilled to hear it, too.
Source: The Associated Press
The U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said Thursday he would launch a nuclear strike against China next week if President Donald Trump ordered it, and warned against the military ever shifting its allegiance from its commander in chief.
Adm. Scott Swift was responding to a hypothetical question at an Australian National University security conference following a major joint U.S.- Australian military exercise off the Australian coast. The drills were monitored by a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship off northeast Australia.
Asked by an academic in the audience whether he would make a nuclear attack on China next week if Trump ordered it, Swift replied: "The answer would be: Yes."
"Every member of the U.S. military has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the United States as commander and chief appointed over us," Swift said.
He added: "This is core to the American democracy, and any time you have a military that is moving away from a focus and an allegiance to civilian control, then we really have a significant problem."
